By now you have most likely heard about the video clip of Mitt Romney denigrating the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income taxes. But perhaps you haven't had the chance or ability to watch the clip yourself. Here, without further ado or embellishment, is the transcript of Romney's remarks:

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right? There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement, and that government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49 -- he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect.

"So he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean, that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not."

What to make of these remarks, which were delivered and secretly recorded at a private fundraiser at a wealthy donor's home last spring? Have Americans become too dependent on Washington?

1) Most of 47 percent of Americans who aren't paying income taxes don't get away tax free: Nearly two-thirds pay payroll taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.

2) Of that smaller group that pays no income taxes or payroll taxes, more than half are elderly -- a population that skewed heavily Republican in the 2010 elections -- and over a third are low-income, earning less than $20,000 a year, according to the Tax Policy Center.

3) Romney says his "job is not to worry about those people," assuming people who pay no income taxes are likely to vote Democratic. However, the Tax Foundation found that the states with the highest percentages of people who don't pay income taxes are overwhelmingly red.

4) Finally, as New York Times columnist David Brooks pointed out in his reflections this morning on Romney's comments, people who rely on government funding are a diverse group of stakeholders, including everyone from veterans receiving health care from the V.A. to students receiving college loans. It's not just the poor and elderly.

Armed with these facts, what do you make of Romney's comments? Do you agree that it's "not his job" to worry about the people he describes?